Poll: Only one in three Palestinians supports two-state solution

A recent poll finds that only one in three Palestinians support a two-state solution, while Americans are growing opposed to unilateral declaration of Palestinian statehood, and Israelis are becoming increasingly concerned.

Thirty-four per cent of respondents of a survey conducted last week by The Israel Project agreed with the statement echoing U.S. President Barack Obama in that there should be two states: one Palestinian, and one Jewish.

The survey polled 1,010 Palestinian adults in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

According to another survey conducted by The Israel Project, 61% of Americans felt that United States should oppose a United Nations resolution supporting a unilaterally declared Palestinian state by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

The survey was conducted in June 2011, and polled 800 American registered voters.

Fifty-seven per cent of Americans felt that peace would be more difficult to achieve and were opposed to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas seeking U.N. recognition of a Palestinian state without signing a peace deal with Israel. In April, that figure was 51%.

More than half of Americans believe that the unity deal between Abbas’ Fatah party and Hamas, the de facto rulers of the Gaza Strip, is a “bad idea”.

The U.N. bid is widely expected to pass as a non-binding General Assembly resolution when it goes to the U.N. in September, but to be vetoed by the U.S. in the Security Council, which holds permanent member status.

According to a draft statement obtained by Reuters, the Arab League is already requesting that the United Nations to recognize the state of Palestine from “observer” status to full member status, with East Jerusalem as the capital.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said that there are no replacements for negotiations, which are the only way to achieve peace, denouncing the Palestinians’ unilateral move.

Thousands of Israelis and Arabs and several Knesset members marched in Jerusalem on Friday to support a Palestinian state, the first Jewish-Arab event in 20 years.

Last week, the U.S. House of representatives passed a resolution 407-6 calling on Palestinian leadership to return to peace talks with Israel “without preconditions”.